The Era of Good Feelings was the name applied to the period in the United States corresponding with the term of President James Monroe, from 1817 to 1825. The phrase is believed to have been coined by a Boston newspaper shortly after Monroe took office. The basis for the phrase is that the United States, following the War of 1812, settled into a period of rule by one party, the Democratic-Republicans of Monroe (which had their roots in the Jeffersonian Republicans). And, following the problems of the administration of James Madison, which included economic problems, protests against the war, and the burning of the White House and Capitol by British troops, the Monroe years seemed relatively placid. And Monroe's presidency represented stability as it was a continuation of the "Virginia dynasty," as four of the first five presidents, Washington, Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe, had been Virginians. Yet in some ways, this period in history was misnamed. There were a number of tensions developing in the United States. For instance, a major crisis over the practice of enslavement in America was averted by the passage of the Missouri Compromise (and that solution was, of course, only temporary). The very controversial election of 1824, which became known as "The Corrupt Bargain," brought an end to this period, and ushered in the troubled presidency of John Quincy Adams. The issue of enslavement was not absent in the early years of the United States, of course. Yet it was also somewhat submerged. The importation of African captives had been banned in the first decade of the 19th century, and some Americans expected that enslavement itself would eventually die out. In the North, the practice was being outlawed by the various states. However, thanks to various factors including the rise of the cotton industry, enslavement in the South was becoming more entrenched. As the United States expanded and new states joined the Union, the balance in the national legislature between free states and states that allowed enslavement emerged as a critical issue. A problem arose when Missouri sought to enter the Union as a state that allowed enslavement. That would have given such states a majority in the U.S. Senate. In early 1820, as the admission of Missouri was debated in the Capitol, it represented the first sustained debate about enslavement in Congress. The problem of Missouri's admission was eventually decided by the Missouri Compromise (and the admission of Missouri to the Union as a state that practiced enslavement at the same time Maine was admitted as a free state). The issue of enslavement was not settled, of course. But the dispute over it, at least in the federal government, was delayed. Another major problem during the Monroe administration was the first great financial depression of the 19th century, the Panic of 1819. The crisis was prompted by a fall in cotton prices, and the problems spread throughout the American economy. The effects of the Panic of 1819 were most deeply felt in the South, which helped exacerbate sectional differences in the United States. Resentments about the economic hardship during the years 1819–1821 were a factor in the rise of Andrew Jackson's political career in the 1820s.
The years following* the end of the War of 1812 have been called the “era of good feelings” because of their apparent lack of partisan political strife. In the Election of 1816, James Monroe decisively defeated the last of the Federalist candidates. Monroe was overwhelmingly reelected in the Election of 1820 with no opposition whatsoever. Domestic politics under Monroe revolved around three main issues: Monroe’s major foreign affairs issues involved the following:
The “Era of Good Feeling” refers to a period in U.S. history from about 1815 until about 1825, characterized by a sense of optimism and positivity. The era is closely associated with the presidency of James Monroe, who served two terms from 1817 to 1825. Monroe easily won the presidential election of 1816, garnering 183 electoral votes while the opposing Federalist party won just 34. His victory signaled the effective end of the Federalist party and ushered in a period of total dominance by Monroe’s Democratic-Republican party. After the election, Monroe went on a prolonged victory tour throughout New England. It was during this tour that one newspaper, the Columbian Centinel, published an article titled “The Era of Good Feeling.” The piece described a festive, upbeat mood which was shared by “eminent men of all political parties.” The era was marked by America’s victory in the War of 1812. In Europe, the Napoleonic Wars were at an end, which also left Americans free to concentrate on their own affairs. The age is characterized by a growing isolationism. Historians say that the era of good feeling was also shored up by economic prosperity. During Monroe’s first term, America put in place its first protective tariffs and established the Second National Bank. Congress, at Monroe’s request, also put an end to property taxes and other federal taxes. The federal government was able to pay off the nation’s extensive war debt using the money from tariffs. At the same time, America continued to expand across the continent. In 1819, Andrew Jackson invaded Florida, which eventually led to a treaty with Spain that handed Florida over to the United States. During this period, America also stepped up its western expansion. In 1823, the president also articulated the Monroe Doctrine, which defined the Western Hemisphere as the United States’ sphere of influence and warned Europeans not to interfere in the region. The era of good feeling was at an end by 1825. Even during Monroe’s second term, the sense of national goodwill was beginning to fade, and major conflicts over slavery and national expansion were making themselves felt. The period of one-party rule was also coming to an end. Since the Federalist party had collapsed, the presidential election of 1824 featured candidates who were all from the Democratic-Republican party. Four candidates vied for the presidency: Andrew Jackson, John Quincy Adams, Treasury Secretary William Crawford, and House Speaker Henry Clay. None of the candidates was able to win a majority in the electoral college, so that decision went to the House of Representatives. The choice was between Adams and Jackson; neither Crawford nor clay had enough votes to compete. The House handed the presidency to Adams, although Andrew Jackson had won the most popular votes and the most electoral votes. The election marked a split in the party, leading Americans to re-organize into two new parties: the Democrats, loyal to Jackson, and the Whigs, who were allied to Adams. In 1828, Andrew Jackson ran again and, this time, defeated Adams in his re-election bid. |
The Era of Good Feelings was so called because
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